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UWM Holdings Corporation (UWMC) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

DATE

Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

  • Chairman and CEO — Mathew Ishbia

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TAKEAWAYS

  • Wholesale channel market share -- UWM Holdings Corporation (UWMC +1.75%) captured approximately 44.7%-44.8% of the wholesale channel in the prior year.
  • Total origination volume -- Origination was about $45 billion, up from $32 billion year over year.
  • Gain-on-sale margin -- Margin reached about 123 basis points, an increase over the previous year's first quarter.
  • Expense levels -- Expenses were "roughly $600 million in the quarter (about $590 million)," described as flat to down sequentially.
  • Brokers affiliated -- About 12,000 to 12,500 broker shops are integrated, with only 400-500 not fully engaged with UWM Holdings Corporation.
  • Servicing platform transition -- Fewer than 100,000 loans are now on the in-house platform, with all new loans boarding directly; the company expects to eliminate subservicers by year end.
  • Company five-year volume outlook -- Mathew Ishbia stated, "expect to do over $1.3 trillion in mortgages in that five-year window."
  • AI/Tech initiatives -- The AI assistant Mia contributed to 80,000 to 100,000 closings over the past year, with 2%-3% of the servicing book accounting for 12%-13% of all refinances, a result attributed significantly to Mia's performance.
  • VantageScore implementation -- UWM Holdings Corporation rolled out VantageScore within four business days of pilot approval, saving brokers and consumers money, and qualifying more borrowers.
  • BILT partnership activation -- The BILT card partnership is fully active, with rewards points for ACH mortgage payments live, and major client migration to the new servicing experience underway, not yet at total portfolio scale.
  • Expense guidance -- Expenses are forecasted to remain flat as volume more than doubles over the next five years, aided by technology and AI investments.
  • Two Harbors bidding status -- The company maintained a maximum offer of "$12" per share for Two Harbors, describing the management and board as not additive to value, but highlighting excitement for acquiring their MSR book and shareholder base.
  • Broker channel national share -- Broker channel share stands at approximately 28%, nearly double the level from five years ago.

SUMMARY

UWM Holdings Corporation detailed an active strategic transition to in-house servicing, aiming for a complete platform migration by year end and emphasizing the operational benefits. Management presented an outlook projecting over $1.3 trillion in mortgage volume during 2027–2031, while providing ongoing expense discipline supported by near-term AI integration and ancillary product revenue. The company is leveraging partnerships such as BILT and deploying new credit tools like VantageScore to improve client retention and qualification, reflecting tangible first-mover advantages. Product mix remains heavily centered on origination, but servicing income is expected to steadily rise. Management reiterated that wholesale channel growth and technology investments underlie the company’s plans for sustained share gains within an evolving mortgage market.

  • The call described a shift in the competitive environment following the March 4 Homebuyer Privacy Protection Act, with management noting, "The trigger lead rule (effective March 4) changed things. When a consumer used to pull credit, 50 people would call them. Now it is the servicer, original lender, original broker, maybe their bank—three or four. This improves experience for consumers. On the flip side, consumers may not get as many options; they might accept a higher rate and higher fees if nobody else calls. So I could argue it might increase margins a bit because there is less extreme low-balling to win a loan when 19 people are not calling. It has been good overall."
  • Mathew Ishbia said, "There are not that many high-producing shops left to bring over; almost everyone in the market works with us," implying channel penetration is very high, and future wholesale share growth will focus on expanding the broker channel overall rather than switching existing participants.
  • Further clarity was given on recent expense trends: investments such as TrackPlus, free credit reports, and AI tools are now translating to reduced cost growth and improved productivity, with expenses described as being "flat or down."
  • The company described the strategic intent behind its Two Harbors bid as, "The strategic value is their MSR book and their shareholders," with no anticipated integration of their management or operational teams.
  • UWM Holdings Corporation is piloting lead generation through BILT’s 6 million consumers, with expectations for a "concierge service" and curated mortgage referrals to support origination.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

  • MSR (Mortgage Servicing Rights): The contractual right to service a mortgage loan (collect payments, handle escrow, etc.) in exchange for a fee.
  • Gain-on-sale margin: The profit percentage realized when a mortgage lender sells originated loans into the secondary market.
  • Broker channel: Mortgage lending segment that originates loans through independent mortgage brokers, rather than retail or commercial bank employees.
  • VantageScore: A consumer credit scoring model designed as an alternative to FICO, recognized by FHFA and the GSEs for mortgage qualification.
  • Trigger lead: A sales lead generated when a consumer’s credit report is pulled, allowing other lenders to market competing offers, recently restricted by regulatory changes.
  • BILT (BILT Rewards): A loyalty program offering points and mortgage payment rewards for consumers, also a fintech partner enabling new servicing integrations at UWM Holdings Corporation.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Mathew Ishbia: Thanks for joining today. I appreciate everyone being here. This quarter we are doing a little different format. Hopefully you like it, and we would love your feedback. This probably fits my style more. I would love to be able to see you as well; I do not think we set it up that way this time, maybe next time. We have a bunch of questions, so I am going to go through them. I know last quarter we did not do Q&A and people missed that, so I am happy to do this and add value in any way possible about the industry and about UWM Holdings Corporation. I have a variety of questions.

I will try not to duplicate and will group some together. I will read a person’s name, read the question, and go through it. If anyone has any follow-ups, I know I cannot take them live this way, but our investor relations team, Blake and everybody else, will handle your questions and help with anything you need. We will now open the call for questions. First question, I have Doug Harter from BTIG. What is the status of bringing servicing in-house? What is the latest timeline transitioning all servicing to our own platform? Status of bringing servicing in-house: it is going fantastic. We feel really great about where servicing is right now and how it is going.

We have fewer than 100 thousand loans on our in-house platform currently, but all new loans are boarding onto our platform, and we have moved a bunch of loans over from Cenlar already. We feel really good about that. The process will take place this year. Over the whole year, we will bring all of our loans in-house so there will be no subservicers by the end of this year. UWM Holdings Corporation will handle it all. It is going really great. Our technology and process are going great. We partnered with Black Knight, we partnered with BILT, and we have also built a bunch of stuff ourselves. We feel really good about how it is all going.

Our client service has been excellent. All the metrics that people look at are fantastic, so we feel really good about it across the board. The transition timeline is this year. Hopefully that answers your question, Doug. I know there are a lot of servicing questions; I am sure I will get to them as we go through it. Next one, Ryan Nash, Goldman Sachs: What are your thoughts on future gain-on-sale margins? What does the competitive landscape look like in a heightened rate environment? Rates went up in March from February. The 10-year finished at 3.95%. Seeing rates go up, how does that impact competitive landscape and gain-on-sale margins?

We are in a really great position from a margin and competitive perspective. The competitive landscape is very competitive right now. A heightened rate environment means purchases more than refi. However, if you looked at our first quarter, we did a heck of a job on the refinance side. My answer on gain-on-sale margins: I see the current range being the right range and I think it will continue to be at these levels, not significantly higher and not significantly lower. I actually think there is upside in the margins. Our margins were pretty strong in the first quarter; I expect them to be in those ranges again in the second quarter.

If rates come down, you could see margins increase. The competitive landscape is very competitive. We had a great first quarter. You saw the numbers. First quarter is usually the slowest quarter. Rates going up and the uncertainty from the war create issues in the rate environment, but we feel really good about where it is at right now. Ryan Nash also asked thoughts on the Knicks winning it all. They have a very good team. We just lost to Oklahoma City, who is an amazing team too. The East is open; the Knicks have a real good chance. I am not really cheering for anybody; I am just watching and learning. Good luck to your Knicks.

Now you can see me. I told you I had a good blue suit on today. Next question, Mark DeVries from Deutsche Bank: What is the strategic value you see in Two Harbors, and what updates can you share regarding its progress or impact? Two Harbors is interesting. When we originally sought to acquire the company, they had something that is really great: a pristine servicing book. We thought there would also be a lot of synergies—capital markets expertise, some finance expertise, and we could learn from their servicing platform. As we went through due diligence, we learned there was a really great servicing book, and we still like that servicing book. We originally put an offer out there.

Where it stands now: we do not see as much value in their management team. Their team members we met are very good, but their leadership team we were not as impressed with. Since then they went out and tried to get another bid, and they did. If they would have engaged with us, we always planned on paying $12. Quite honestly, based on when their stock price went down, I would rather pay it in cash than in stock; I feel like I would be giving our stock away at a really low price. They never engaged; they just went out to another offer. We made another offer; they basically ignored it.

We made another one and said, okay, we will go to $12, what we originally planned on paying. I think it is maybe $11.95, but you can do the math based on when their stock was at $5.11 or $5.15 the day we cut the deal. We still feel really good about that deal. It is very clear their management team and their board have had their own issues in the past with lawsuits and such, and may be playing games, because they realize we do not see any value for them specifically. They have really great shareholders, which we are excited to bring on to UWM Holdings Corporation.

But their board and their management team do not have value to us. Now they are trying to do anything they can to go with someone else so that they have jobs and sustainability. It will play out; we will see how it shakes out. The strategic value is their MSR book and their shareholders. We would love them to be UWM Holdings Corporation shareholders. Whether they take cash or stock does not matter to me. For the shareholders of Two Harbors, they would obviously prefer taking $12 in cash or UWM Holdings Corporation shares than taking $11.30 in cash from someone else. That is going to play out. We feel good about the strategic value.

It is very clear to us that it is the MSR book and the shareholders; we do not have any value for their leadership team, which is not what they like to hear. Mikael (Mikhail) Goberman from Citizens Bank: How do you foresee the balance between origination income and servicing income evolving, especially given the post-war reversal of rates since February? We are an origination company. We are the biggest and best originator in the country. You saw an amazing first quarter. We have been the number one originator for four straight years and the number one wholesale lender for 11 straight years. Origination is our game.

As we bring servicing in-house, we will have more servicing and will continue to retain servicing. We are still opportunistic: if someone gives me a bid we believe is more than the intrinsic value, I will sell the servicing. With the lower cost of servicing by bringing it in-house and a better level of service, which will help retention, we have the best of all of it. How will it balance? We will see with income levels, origination versus servicing, but origination is still our game. We will continue to build out the servicing book. We are always opportunistic—people call us all the time.

Even with Two Harbors, a lot of that “pristine” servicing book happens to be our old servicing that we sold them. We feel good about the paper we originate and servicing the loans. If someone offers us a great price, we will always look at it. Jason Stewart from Compass Point: Was there an increased number of high-producing brokers affiliated with UWM Holdings Corporation during the quarter supporting wholesale channel growth? Good question. High-producing broker shops affiliated with UWM Holdings Corporation—there are about 12 thousand to 12.5 thousand brokers that work with us, and maybe 400 to 500 that are not “all in” with UWM Holdings Corporation.

There are not that many high-producing shops left to bring over; almost everyone in the market works with us. That is why we have almost 45% market share—about 44.7% or 44.8%—of the wholesale channel for the year last year. Our big focus is grow the channel, help brokers do more, and help more originators realize that broker is the place to go, whether they join a broker shop or start their own. As the broker channel grows, UWM Holdings Corporation will grow, even if our market share were to go down. I feel great about growing the broker channel. Brokers coming over to join UWM Holdings Corporation—yes, every single day people see the value of what we do.

An example: one of the biggest adversaries of UWM Holdings Corporation in the past at Rocket, who was very negative on us, left his company, started a broker shop, called me, and is now working with UWM Holdings Corporation and not with Rocket. Someone who knows every detail that Rocket is doing learned about UWM Holdings Corporation, started a broker shop, and picked to work with UWM Holdings Corporation. That sends a message there will be more big broker shops moving over. There are not that many left that do not work with us, but it is an opportunity. The bigger thing is grow the broker channel.

The broker channel continues to be very positive, and we are excited about its growth. I have a couple of questions on Mia and the AI initiative. Let me give you a Mia update. Mia has been fantastic. It has been almost a year since I rolled it out at UWM Holdings Corporation Live last year, and it has been amazing. Roughly 80 thousand to 100 thousand closings over the last year have come from Mia. The last report was very strong with Mia’s initiation of refinance opportunities. People ask: you have 2% to 3% of the servicing book, but you did 12% to 13% of all refinances—why? Mia is a big part of that.

Brokers do a great job with the consumer upfront; consumers want to come back to the broker. The problem was brokers did an average or below-average job of following up with past clients. With Mia, she keeps the broker in front of the consumer. When the consumer goes to refinance, they work with the broker, who offers a better deal; now they know who to call. Mia leaves voicemails and sends a text message too. About 40% of her calls get picked up—better than expected—so 60% go to voicemail, and we send a text as well. Many call the broker back, ask if it was AI or spam, and then they connect and do a loan.

On about 40%—for example, if there were 40 thousand calls in a day, then 16 thousand—borrowers talk to Mia and have long conversations, two to four minutes. Some know it is AI and some do not; it has gotten that good. Then we send a follow-up email to the broker: “You have a call scheduled at 3 PM with Jenny, the borrower.” It has been very successful. We have more coming with Mia—enhancements at UWM Holdings Corporation Live next week and beyond. There is nowhere in the country, in any industry that I know of, doing this at the scale we are. It will help brokers win.

It is a big part of that delta: 2% to 3% of the servicing book and 12% to 13% of refis—Mia plus brokers doing a great job and us staying in front of consumers. Kyle Joseph: Could you review industry competitive trends, current broker share, and how you anticipate it evolving in the current market? Current broker share is about 28%. Five years ago, in early 2020, it was about 14% to 15%, so it has almost doubled. Will it double again? We are working on it; going from 14% to 28% is easier than 28% to 56%. Our goal is to help brokers be the number one overall channel—50.1%—and we are on a path to that.

Our wholesale share has been over 40% for years—about 44.7% or 44.8%—consistently. That has never been done in wholesale. It is because we provide value: we help brokers grow, look good to real estate agents, do more business, make the process easier, and be successful. We train, coach, and give tools that help them win more loans. We are the best and the biggest in wholesale and overall, and the key is helping brokers win. As brokers win, UWM Holdings Corporation wins. Being the largest lender in the country for four straight years, we only have a chance at 28 out of 100 loans because that is the broker channel today. Others compete for 100 out of 100 loans.

As the retail share of 72 out of 100 shifts down to 65, 60, or 50, that is growth for UWM Holdings Corporation. That is why we are bullish on our growth and broker growth. I have a couple of questions tied to expenses. Our expenses went down. We invested a lot for years, and now we are starting to see the harvesting or success of those investments—TrackPlus, free credit reports for brokers, and more. You will start seeing expenses level out. They went down. Our investments are paying off in a positive way. We did not have as great a quarter as where I want us to be, but compared to the industry we had a great quarter.

Last year’s first quarter was about $32 billion, which is a great quarter; this year we did about $45 billion—significant. Our gain on sale was up, and volume is up year-over-year. Expenses are flat or down. We feel good about where we are from an expenses perspective. We think of them as investments, and they are paying off. Mikhail Goberman also asked: What are your thoughts on the new VantageScore rating system for borrower credit? Kudos to the leadership of FHFA for rolling out a new alternative. FICO scores and credit reports have gotten really expensive. Having competition creates better outcomes—just like wholesale works because brokers have options.

With FICO and Vantage both competing, they are on top of their game. Very few companies were put on the pilot; we were one. It rolled out less than two weeks ago from FHFA, and with the support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, four business days later we rolled it out. It has been an enormous success—not just saving, say, $50 per credit report, but because we have both FICO and VantageScore and can ensure borrowers get the best opportunity. Vantage looks at thin files differently, can add rent and other things, so more people can qualify, or qualify with a slightly higher score. With Vantage you take a 20-point haircut to compare to FICO.

So if Vantage shows 744, the equivalent comparison is 724 in FICO terms. If a borrower’s actual FICO was 719, then we just got that borrower a better deal—lower LLPAs or a better opportunity. That is a win for consumers. In five business days we have received many emails about loans we helped brokers win and consumers who can qualify for a home or got a better rate and lower fees. We rolled it out with VA loans today; FHA will be soon. MI companies are coming on board. FICO is still great; it is not one or the other—both are great. Our IT team rolled this out in four business days and it works flawlessly.

Nobody else has it live right now besides UWM Holdings Corporation because they cannot implement as quickly. Maybe others will have it in May or June. We are already saving loans and helping consumers get better deals because of Vantage. A couple of questions on the BILT partnership. Indications of the BILT card relationship, increased leads, partnership status, infrastructure. BILT and Ankur Jain, the CEO, are phenomenal. Their vision is great. UWM Holdings Corporation is a servicer. We brought servicing in-house; we are controlling everything. We chose a front-end platform that provides rewards points to consumers for making their mortgage payment via ACH—never been done in our industry. Rewards points for making your mortgage on time. Everyone loves points.

You can link your credit card and get your Amex points and BILT points, and use them for flights and more. The servicing platform is slick; we built this with them for mortgage. It is great for consumers. Beyond that, BILT has over 6 million consumers; in a year, 8% to 10% of them buy houses. Those are curated leads that will want to stay on the BILT platform and work with a mortgage broker. That is a huge opportunity. We have piloted it. There is a concierge service that gives our consumers—our brokers’ consumers—an amazing platform to get things done and make their life easier. It is a cool neighborhood experience.

Ankur will speak at UWM Holdings Corporation Live next week, so you can hear it firsthand. The key: UWM Holdings Corporation has servicing in-house. We have been the best originator; we are going to be the best servicer, because we are focused on it. It will help broker retention and make the consumer experience better, with ancillary benefits too. The partnership is launched, rolling, fully active, and getting better every day. We do not have all 700 thousand consumers on it yet; those are moving over. I have shadowed the servicing team; the process has been really great. You asked why we did not do this earlier; I have always said focus on originations, and we still do.

But the servicing cost is better, and more importantly the retention and experience for consumers and brokers is even better. We are excited about that. Here is an interesting one that covers multiple questions: What do you see in the business for the next three to five years? Some asked for a 10-year horizon, some for five, some about expenses or volume over the next three years. High-level view over the next five years—call it 2027 to 2031—we expect to do over $1.3 trillion in mortgages in that five-year window. That is a big number; there might be one year with $400 billion, another with $150 to $200 billion. But $1.3 trillion is our north star over five years.

While doing that, expenses basically stay the same. With our AI initiatives and technology, the expenses you see today—roughly $600 million in the quarter (about $590 million)—we expect expenses to be flat even as volume more than doubles. On top of that, I see another roughly 20% to almost 25% in other revenue coming into UWM Holdings Corporation from ancillary products that are picking up steam. Some of that is tied to originations but outside of just volume and gain-on-sale—some is in gain-on-sale and some is not—creating additional opportunities. To summarize: $1.3 trillion over five years; gain-on-sale margins in the current ranges, maybe slightly higher; expenses flat to down; and other revenue tied to AI initiatives beginning to contribute meaningfully.

Kyle Joseph: How are you thinking about the Homebuyer Privacy Protection Act (trigger lead rule) and its potential impacts on the industry, competitive environment, and overall margins? The trigger lead rule (effective March 4) changed things. When a consumer used to pull credit, 50 people would call them. Now it is the servicer, original lender, original broker, maybe their bank—three or four. This improves experience for consumers. On the flip side, consumers may not get as many options; they might accept a higher rate and higher fees if nobody else calls. So I could argue it might increase margins a bit because there is less extreme low-balling to win a loan when 19 people are not calling.

It has been good overall. It is still early—about 60 days in. Brokers who used trigger leads are finding other data sources; it is still competitive, just less noisy. That is changing the competitive environment and could be modestly supportive of margins. A couple asked about debt ratios. Why did secured debt go up relative to other aspects of the balance sheet, and how do we look at the debt ratio? We look at them every day. A couple years ago the ratios were really good while business volume was not as good.

Now business is really good and the ratios are not as good as we would like, but some of that is an anomaly tied to trades we have to balance the MSR book. That can cause end-of-quarter moves. It has already come down a bit since quarter-end. Those fluctuations can throw ratios off. They are better than they may appear. The key is earnings. We had a good earnings quarter in the first quarter. There will be quarters with much bigger earnings. We monitor and manage closely. We believe in delivering value to shareholders via dividends (which we have been doing) and possibly buybacks or other actions. Overall, we feel really good about our leverage and debt ratios.

There are many levers we can pull to make those ratios better while doing more business and having higher earnings. You will see some of those in the second quarter and beyond. Jason Stewart, Compass Point: During periods of heightened volatility at the start of the year, how do you manage lock duration and pricing cadence? Do you increase frequency of rate sheet updates? How much volatility is absorbed? And impact of programs like Purchase Boost 50 and pricing initiatives? On volatility and pricing: the market has been very volatile. We have an extremely experienced capital markets team. Sometimes you will see two, three, even four rate sheets in a day.

If rates improve, we put improvements out so brokers can be competitive and win loans. If rates worsen, we adjust pricing accordingly. Markets move all day; we have thresholds for when we move pricing up or down. There are days with four or five updates, and days with one 10 AM rate sheet and no changes if moves are not material—we balance competitiveness with consistency for clients. That is why you saw strong margins in the fourth quarter and first quarter, and you will see strong margins in the second quarter as well. On BILT Rewards: it does not tie to gain-on-sale or pricing; it is a servicing and consumer-experience benefit.

On Purchase Boost 50 and pricing initiatives: these are designed to help brokers succeed and win. Lowest price alone does not win. Many of our price incentives are strategic—they incent brokers to use a tool that improves consumer experience and long-term retention. For example, we offered roughly 40–45 basis points for using hybrid or virtual closings, because that makes the consumer experience better, which increases the likelihood they will return to “John Smith at Smith Mortgage” to refinance later. We track borrower happiness scores on every loan. These are investments, and they are reflected in gain-on-sale.

Even with those investments in 4Q and 1Q, margins were much higher than last year’s 1Q—about 123 bps in 1Q and about 122 bps in 4Q. We track and manage this daily. We give a very competitive price, add significant value to help brokers win more loans, provide the best service in the industry, roll out AI tools and technology, and invest in free credit reports for brokers to help them compete and help more consumers. Many decisions are strategic to help brokers win.

Sometimes brokers have never done a virtual closing; getting an extra 45 bps gets them to try it, and then they do it on all loans even without the incentive because it is best for the consumer and helps them grow. If brokers win, UWM Holdings Corporation wins. When consumers realize the fastest, easiest, cheapest way to get a mortgage is through brokers, UWM Holdings Corporation wins. Real estate agents win. We are all one team focused on what is best for consumers. When a consumer goes to a random commercial lender or their local bank, they usually pay higher rates.

When a consumer goes to mortgagematchup.com, they will find a broker who gets them a better rate, better fees, and a better experience. Anything I can do to drive more business there is what I will do. UWM Holdings Corporation Live is next week. It is the biggest mortgage event of the year. I will be there all day, meeting with investors and analysts. We have some great speakers. It is really cool to see the broker community. We have covered a lot of questions—about 40 minutes. Let me know how you like the format. Maybe next time I can see you too and we can have more interaction. Hopefully this was valuable.

If I did not answer your specific question, please reach out to our investor relations team—Blake and the whole team—who will answer all your questions. We appreciate you. Thanks for being partners of UWM Holdings Corporation—shareholders, investors, analysts. We will keep winning together with our brokers. UWM Holdings Corporation will continue to grow with my amazing team members here. Thank you for your time. I am excited about the future here at UWM Holdings Corporation. The second quarter is going to be great as well. We will do the same format again unless we get a lot of feedback that you did not like it. I hope you did and it was valuable to spend this time with me.

Have a great day.

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